Improvement in manufacturing tin cans



UNITED STATES ATENT OEEICE.

l J OIIN E. VANSANT, OF LOUISVILLEfKENTUOKY.

Specification forming part ot' Letters Patent No. 40,372, dated October20, 1863.

To all whom t ma, concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. VANsANT, of Louisville, in the` county ofJefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and ImprovedImplement or Device for Manufacturing Tin Cans; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ot thisspecication, in which- Figure l is a side sectional view ot' myinvention taken in the line x x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a plan or top View ot'the same; Fig. 3, a detached side view of lthe former pertaining to thesame.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre-- spending parts in thethree figures.

This invention relates to a new and irnproved machine for manufacturingcylindrical tin cans; and it consists in the employment or use of astationary and a movable jaw having a loop-clamp attached to them, thejaws being operated by a treadle and levers, the latter being providedwith a weight, and all arranged and used in connection with a former, ashereinafter fully set forth.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a stationary jaw,4 which is formed ot' a metal plate, thewidth of which is equal to if not greater than the length of the cans tobe manufactured. This metal plate is bent or curved at its lower end, soas to have a horizontal position, and this horizontal part, which isdesignated by o, is secured by a bolt, b, to a bench or support, B. Theupper part of this jaw A is curved or bent over in semicircular form, asshown clearly in Fig. 1.

O represents the movable jaw, which is constructed precisely like thestationary jaw A, and is attached to the lower horizontal part, a,ot'thejaw A by a hinge, c.

To the upper ends of both jaws, A O, there are attached what I term aloop-clamp, D, which may be constructed of sheet metal* Russiasheet-iron, for instance-leather, or other material. This loopclampprojects down between the two jaws, and it is of cylindrical form, asshown clearly in Fig. 1.

E representsalever which projects through a slot, d, in the" jaw G, andhas a weight, F, attached toit. This lever has its fulcrumto the jaw C,adjoining th'e slot d, and said lever also passfs through a slot, g, inthe'permanent jaw A, and has a pendent strap or loop, k, attached to it.The lever E -is lattached to the jaw A by a lever, G, the ends ot' whicha` e attached by pivots t' to the lever E and jaw A.

structed of sheet metal ot' cylindrical form open at one end andprovided at the opposite end' with a handle, I. This former has itsdiameter equal to the internal diameter of the cans to be manufactured.

The operation is as follows: The tin .I is out out in pieces of properdimensions and bent or formed by the ordinary tinners niachines in theusual way. This tin is then placed on the former H, and the latterinserted in the loop-clamp D, the edges of the tin being uppermost. Theoperator then places his foot in the strap or loop h and presses itdown, which causes the movablejaw O to approach the stationary jaw A,and the loopclamp D will be made to iirmly grasp the tin J, and theedges of the tin are then soldered firmly together. The operator thenreleases the lever Eby withdrawing his foot from the strap le., and theweight F will draw the jaw O from the jaw A and open or spread theloop-clamp D. The frame H, with the can upon it, is then drawn from theloopclamp, the handle I of the former H fitted on a pin, ax, on thebench B, and the can pulled off from the formery D by a sudden jerk.

By this simple device tin cans can be constructed with great rapidityand without danger of burning the lingers in soldering. The cans alsowill all be ofthe same diameter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The stationary and movable'jaws A C. provided with the loop-clamp D, andoperated through the medium of the levers E G, or their equivalents, incombination with the former H, all arranged to operate as and for thepurpose herein set forth.

J. E. VANSANT.

Witnesses:

SINEY J. HABE, SAML. MATLAcK.

lpin e passing through-a bracket, f, attached H represents a former,which may be con-

